10 Insights From Darden’s 2015 Shanghai Investing Summit

“It’s really the beginning of the Chinese securities market. For China’s capital market to transform successfully into a mature market, three elements — liberalization, legal order and professional capacity — have to develop together.”
— Ruyin Hu, chief economist, Shanghai Stock Exchange

“When outsiders like myself think about investing in China, we need to realize that the metrics we use need to be Chinese metrics. … We need to understand the environment. We need to understand that the Chinese economic agenda is powerful and visionary and has a long-term resolve. When your investment is in concert with the agenda, it is powerful. When it is not, it can be very challenging.”
— Robert J. Hugin, chair and CEO, Celgene Corporation

“We’re now seeing many Chinese Internet companies listed — together, a total of 80. Now the three major players — Baidu, Tencent, Alibaba — they are all listed in the U.S. Starting from this year, from now on we will see a reverse phenomenon: High-tech companies in China are starting to stay away from the U.S. capital market. … Chinese companies are starting to look at the domestic market for financing.”
— Xuefeng Qian, founding partner and chair, New Access Capital

“The main investment motivations in [China’s] outward direct investment are to acquire natural resources, advanced technology and brands.”
— Ming Zhang, director and senior research fellow, Department of International Investment, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Science

“You can never outsmart the locals, so it’s better to have a partner.”
— J. Peter Chen, head of business development, CPPIB Asia Inc.

“To get a cash return, the best places in today’s world are U.S. corporations that are now willing more than ever to return a significant amount of the cash flow to the stakeholders. It’s the corporations that are driving the market.”
— Richard A. Mayo, chair and founder, Mayo Capital Partners LLC

“We have to play the Chinese game in China. With distressed investing, we have had to develop a market ourselves. In the U.S., we have everything there. The whole game has changed already. If you fail to understand the market inefficiencies, you miss the point.”
— Hanson Wong, CEO, Belos Capital (Asia) Limited

“I believe that in the future, there will be lots of opportunity for collaboration. The government is thinking about upgrading industries — getting rid of pollution. The government is talking about a new normal. Banks are reluctant to give out more money to companies; that’s why the government has to grow the equity market. Companies will need financing from the market and venture capital.”
— Pan Yingli, professor, Department of Finance, Antai College of Economics & Management

“Just a few years after Chinese technology companies flocked to sell shares in New York, the trend is reversing as a growing number of them are seeking to take their listings home in the next few years.”
— Roy C. Dahlquist, managing director, Asia Virginia Economic Development Partnership

“In light of some of the news and resilient markets, the world of investing is increasingly defined by its very global nature. Investors look across and beyond their own borders for returns and, in so doing, have to understand differences among regulatory regimes, economic growth environments, policy decisions, demographics and consumer behaviors.”
— Robert F. Bruner, dean, Charles C. Abbott Professor of Business Administration and Distinguished Professor of Business Administration, University of Virginia Darden School of Business